SENATE, No. 1469
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 19, 1996
By Senator BUBBA
An Act concerning property tax relief for local government residents, amending R.S.43:21-5 and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes and chapter 6 of Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Property Tax Reduction Work Act."
2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
Property taxes remain one of the highest single expenses for State residents and are especially burdensome for seniors on fixed incomes, single-income families, and families with children in college.
Retired residents, homemakers and students possess many of the necessary clerical and professional skills needed for efficient running of school districts and municipal and county governments.
It is in the public interest to utilize the part-time talent and skills of State residents to help in the functioning of local government because it gets more people involved with their government and can lower property taxes by reducing the need for full-time employees.
Many State residents would be motivated to perform services for their municipality, county or school district if, in return, their property tax liability could be reduced.
3. (New section) A municipality, county or school district may, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate, adopt a program permitting certain residents of the county or taxing district to perform services for the county, municipality or school district in lieu of services which would normally be performed by municipal, county or school district employees. The municipality, county or school district shall designate such residents performing services as "resident associates."
4. (New section) A resident associate may be any bona fide resident of the county, municipality or school district, as appropriate. The resident associate shall be qualified by education or prior work experience to perform a particular service for the county, municipality or school district.
5. (New section) A resident associate may be recruited to fill with substantially similar duties any vacant position formerly held by a part-time or full-time employee which does not require certification from the State and was not funded through a grant from State or federal sources.
6. (New section) A resident associate who performs services for the municipality, county or school district shall be awarded a voucher which may be used to offset the property taxes due on the residence of the resident associate within the county or taxing district, as applicable. For the purposes of this section, "property taxes due" means taxes duly assessed against the property, including any amounts due representing interest or penalties, and any amounts for which redemption payments may be made pursuant to Title 54 of the Revised Statutes. The property tax voucher shall not be transferrable. A voucher shall not be applied toward property taxes which become payable in a year succeeding the year in which the voucher is earned.
7. (New section) Resident associates may be recruited to perform services only when a part-time or full-time position has been vacated in the county, municipality or school district. In the event more than one qualified applicant is recruited to fill a position, the county, municipality or school district shall give preference to the applicant who demonstrates the greatest financial need.
8. (New section) A resident associate shall not be entitled to any benefits or compensatio ,except for the required withholding of taxes, other than a voucher to be used to offset the property tax liability of the property in the county or taxing district providing the voucher wherein the resident associate resides. The employer of a resident associate shall be responsible for withholding all federal or state taxes which may be required, and for contributions to the worker's compensation fund, and for submitting any such withheld taxes or contributions to the appropriate governmental agency.
9. (New section) A resident associate shall be paid with a property tax voucher at the rate of no more than half the annual salary of a prior part-time or full-time municipal, county or school district employee provided such amount is not less than the mandatory minimum wage amount established under State or federal law. Such amount shall be pro-rated on the basis of an hourly wage so as to ensure that the resident associate service does not exceed the amount of the property tax owed for that year. The municipality, county or school district shall undertake such administrative and budgetary procedures as required to implement the purposes of this act.
10. (New section) This program may be used to help those residents whose property taxes are delinquent and against whose property foreclosure of a tax sale certificate has been initiated.
11.(New section) No resident associate shall be related to a municipal, county or school district elected official or employee.
12. (New section) Gross income shall not include those amounts, pursuant to P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as this bill), which were contributed by an employer on behalf of an employee, withheld as taxes, or credited to an employee in the form of a voucher to be used to offset property taxes.
13. R.S.43:21-5 is amended to read as follows:
43:21-5. Disqualification for benefits
An individual shall be disqualified for benefits:
(a) For the week in which the individual has left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to such work, and for each week thereafter until the individual becomes reemployed and works four weeks in employment, which may include employment for the federal government, and has earned in employment at least six times the individual's weekly benefit rate, as determined in each case. This subsection shall apply to any individual seeking unemployment benefits on the basis of employment in the production and harvesting of agricultural crops, including any individual who was employed in the production and harvesting of agricultural crops on a contract basis and who has refused an offer of continuing work with that employer following the completion of the minimum period of work required to fulfill the contract.
(b) For the week in which the individual has been suspended or discharged for misconduct connected with the work, and for the five weeks which immediately follow that week (in addition to the waiting period), as determined in each case. In the event the discharge should be rescinded by the employer voluntarily or as a result of mediation or arbitration, this subsection (b) shall not apply, provided, however, an individual who is restored to employment with back pay shall return any benefits received under this chapter for any week of unemployment for which the individual is subsequently compensated by the employer.
If the discharge was for gross misconduct connected with the work because of the commission of an act punishable as a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree under the "New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice," N.J.S.2C:1-1 et seq., the individual shall be disqualified in accordance with the disqualification prescribed in subsection (a) of this section and no benefit rights shall accrue to any individual based upon wages from that employer for services rendered prior to the day upon which the individual was discharged.
The director shall insure that any appeal of a determination holding the individual disqualified for gross misconduct in connection with the work shall be expeditiously processed by the appeal tribunal.
(c) If it is found that the individual has failed, without good cause, either to apply for available, suitable work when so directed by the employment office or the director or to accept suitable work when it is offered, or to return to the individual's customary self-employment (if any) when so directed by the director. The disqualification shall continue for the week in which the failure occurred and for the three weeks which immediately follow that week (in addition to the waiting period), as determined:
(1) In determining whether or not any work is suitable for an individual, consideration shall be given to the degree of risk involved to health, safety, and morals, the individual's physical fitness and prior training, experience and prior earnings, the individual's length of unemployment and prospects for securing local work in the individual's customary occupation, and the distance of the available work from the individual's residence. In the case of work in the production and harvesting of agricultural crops, the work shall be deemed to be suitable without regard to the distance of the available work from the individual's residence if all costs of transportation are provided to the individual and the terms and conditions of hire are as favorable or more favorable to the individual as the terms and conditions of the individual's base year employment.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, no work shall be deemed suitable and benefits shall not be denied under this chapter to any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new work under any of the following conditions: (a) if the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; (b) if the remuneration, hours, or other conditions of the work offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality; (c) if as a condition of being employed the individual would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization.
(d) If it is found that this unemployment is due to a stoppage of work which exists because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises at which the individual is or was last employed. No disqualification under this subsection shall apply if it is shown that:
(1) The individual is not participating in or financing or directly interested in the labor dispute which caused the stoppage of work; and (2) The individual does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which, immediately before the commencement of the stoppage, there were members employed at the premises at which the stoppage occurs, any of whom are participating in or financing or directly interested in the dispute; provided that if in any case in which (1) or (2) above applies, separate branches of work which are commonly conducted as separate businesses in separate premises are conducted in separate departments of the same premises, each department shall, for the purpose of this subsection, be deemed to be a separate factory, establishment, or other premises.
(e) For any week with respect to which the individual is receiving or has received remuneration in lieu of notice.
(f) For any week with respect to which or a part of which the individual has received or is seeking unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of any other state or of the United States; provided that if the appropriate agency of the other state or of the United States finally determines that the individual is not entitled to unemployment benefits, this disqualification shall not apply.
(g)(1) For a period of one year from the date of the discovery by the division of the illegal receipt or attempted receipt of benefits contrary to the provisions of this chapter, as the result of any false or fraudulent representation; provided that any disqualification may be appealed in the same manner as any other disqualification imposed hereunder; and provided further that a conviction in the courts of this State arising out of the illegal receipt or attempted receipt of these benefits in any proceeding instituted against the individual under the provisions of this chapter or any other law of this State shall be conclusive upon the appeals tribunal and the board of review.
(2) A disqualification under this subsection shall not preclude the prosecution of any civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding to enforce other provisions of this chapter for the assessment and collection of penalties or the refund of any amounts collected as benefits under the provisions of R.S.43:21-16, or to enforce any other law, where an individual obtains or attempts to obtain by theft or robbery or false statements or representations any money from any fund created or established under this chapter or any negotiable or nonnegotiable instrument for the payment of money from these funds, or to recover money erroneously or illegally obtained by an individual from any fund created or established under this chapter. (h)(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter (R.S. 43:21-1 et seq.), no otherwise eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any week because the individual is in training approved under section 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, P.L.93-618, 19 U.S.C. {2296, nor shall the individual be denied benefits by reason of leaving work to enter this training, provided the work left is not suitable employment, or because of the application to any week in training of provisions in this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), or any applicable federal unemployment compensation law, relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work.
(2) For purposes of this subsection (h), the term "suitable" employment means, with respect to an individual, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the individual's past adversely affected employment (as defined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, P.L.93-618, 19 U.S.C. {2102 et seq.), and wages for this work at not less than 80% of the individual's average weekly wage, as determined for the purposes of the Trade Act of 1974.
(i) For benefit years commencing after June 30, 1984, for any week in which the individual is a student in full attendance at, or on vacation from, an educational institution, as defined in subsection (y) of R.S. 43:21-19; except that this subsection shall not apply to any individual attending a training program approved by the division to enhance the individual's employment opportunities, as defined under subsection (c) of R.S.43:21-4; nor shall this subsection apply to any individual who, during the individual's base year, earned sufficient wages, as defined under subsection (e) of R.S. 43:21-4, while attending an educational institution during periods other than established and customary vacation periods or holiday recesses at the educational institution, to establish a claim for benefits. For purposes of this subsection, an individual shall be treated as a full-time student for any period:
(1) During which the individual is enrolled as a full-time student at an educational institution, or
(2) Which is between academic years or terms, if the individual was enrolled as a full-time student at an educational institution for the immediately preceding academic year or term.
(j) For work performed as a resident associate pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1985, c.508, s.3)
14. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, is intended to permit residents of a municipality, county or school district to perform clerical or professional services previously performed by a part-time or full-time local unit employee who vacated such a position. In return for the service provided, a resident associate would receive a voucher to be used to offset the resident associate's property tax liability. The resident associate would perform the same services of the prior local government employee at no more than half the rate of pay of that employee and with no pension, health or other fringe benefits. The program would be open to any member of the community, provided the individual is properly qualified for the position. A resident associate may not fill, however, a position requiring certification by the State. A position that was funded through State or federal grant monies also could not be filled with a resident associate under the bill.
"Property Tax Reduction Work Act"; permits local units to recruit residents to perform services in return for property tax vouchers.